Rights summit in Zambia is canceled after Chinese pressure to exclude Taiwanese activists

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — U.S.-based organizers of an international human rights conference said they canceled it days before it was due to open because Chinese The African pressured the host country to exclude Taiwanese activists.

Access Now, the New York-based advocacy group that organizes the annual meeting, said late Friday that it had canceled the RightsCon summit scheduled for next week in Zambia after the Zambian government initially said it had been postponed.

Access Now said Zambian officials were informed that the government was being pressured by China over the conference and that “Taiwanese civil society participants are planning to join us personally.” Access Now said it rejected any move to exclude delegates from Taiwan.

“We believe the reason RightCon 2026 is not going ahead in Zambia is due to foreign interference,” Access Now said in a statement.

“What the government is asking of us to lift the postponement has been communicated to us informally from multiple sources: … we will need to moderate certain matters and exclude at-risk communities, including our Taiwanese participants, from in-person and online participation.”

The Zambian government had previously announced it was postponing the conference because it wanted to gain insight into the themes and topics for discussion and ensure they were consistent with the country’s “national values, policy priorities and broader public interest considerations”.

Zambia has strong political and economic ties with China. Chinese mining interests in the mineral-rich southern African country.

RightsCon is an annual conference focused on human rights and technology, addressing topics such as internet censorship, electronic surveillance and cyberwarfare. Access Now said more than 2,600 participants will attend in Zambia, with 1,100 participating online. They represented more than 150 countries.

Last year’s summit was held in Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Digital Affairs Minister Lin Yi-jing said on Facebook on Saturday that the summit’s cancellation showed China’s discomfort with “the ideas of freedom, democracy and the rule of law that Taiwan and RightsCon represent.”

Human Rights Watch said Zambian authorities should explain their actions.

The Zambian government’s move comes just a week after Taiwan claimed it. Beijing intervened Preventing Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te from visiting Eswatini, another southern African country, on April 22.

Taiwan said Lai’s visit to Eswatini, the only African country that maintains official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, was canceled after the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles were pressured by China not to allow Lai’s plane to fly over their territory.

China’s Foreign Ministry praised the actions of the three countries and said their “adherence to the one-China principle is fully in line with international law.”

Chinese Claims that Taiwan is self-governing As a breakaway state, it can be retaken by force if necessary and prohibits countries with diplomatic relations from maintaining official ties with Taipei. China has significant influence in Africa.

Taiwanese leader Lai made a surprise statement on Saturday: came to Eswatini Canceled after first visit. This time, Lai did not publicly announce that he was traveling.

Lai wrote of X: Taiwan “will never be deterred by external pressures.”

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AP reporter Johnson Lai in Taipei contributed.

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